By Lin Yongxin
Recently, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año have publicly denied the "gentleman's agreement" reached between China and the Philippines on the grounds that the former Duterteadministration "had compromised the territory, sovereignty, and sovereign rights of the Filipinos through an alleged secret deal," and "this administration is not aware of any secret or gentleman agreement and if there was such done under a previous administration, the same has been rescinded." The Philippine government under the leadership of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. repeatedly denied the "gentleman's agreement" with China, which not only undermines mutual trust between the two countries but also proves that it has continued to destabilize the situation in the South China Sea since 2023.
The "gentleman's agreement" is a tacit agreement reached between China and the Philippines to pacify the situation at Ren'ai Jiao during the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It aims to manage the situation, maintain peace, and prevent conflict and has nothing to do with each other's sovereign positions. The agreement sets out specific arrangements for how the two sides manage the situation at Ren'ai Jiao, including the Philippine side's commitments not to reinforce its illegally "grounded" warship, not to send additional personnel, not to hype the tension, and to communicate with the Chinese side before transporting supplies. At the same time, the Chinese side allows the Philippines to deliver daily necessities to the personnel aboard the warship based on humanitarian principles. It is evident that the agreement has taken into account the respective concerns of both sides on the Ren'ai Jiao issue, and made proper arrangements on how to view and manage disputes and how to implement targeted measures.
Since the current Philippine administration took office, China has repeatedly informed and negotiated matters related to the "gentleman's agreement" with the Philippine side, insisting on finding ways to handle differences through dialogue and consultation. However, it is regrettable that relevant understandings and arrangements under the agreement have been unilaterally abandoned by the Philippines.
After tearing up the "gentleman's agreement", the Philippines has engaged in increasing numbers of illegal activities that infringe on China's territorial sovereignty. It has colluded with forces outside the region to carry out the so-called "security cooperation" at multiple levels. On April 7, the Philippines, Japan, the US, and Australia held their first joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea. On April 11, the Philippines, the US, and Japan held a trilateral summit, at which they publicly smeared China's lawful actions to defend its legitimate rights and interests in the South China Sea. On April 22, the Philippine and US militaries launched their largest-ever "Balikatan 2024" joint military drills in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The 19-day military exercise involved more than 16,700 troops, including 5,000 from the Philippines and 11,000 from the US.
In view of what the Philippines has done since last year, its denial of the "gentleman's agreement" with China is, on the one hand, to show the international community that the Philippines' illegal acts to infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty are "unrestricted", which are in line with its actions that violate the consensus of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and complement attempts to stigmatize China and try to fabricate China's image of "bullying the small with the big"; on the other hand, the Philippines may seek to substantiate the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award" with a series of infringements upon China's legitimate rights and interests in the South China Sea. To be specific, the Philippines may hope to "endorse" its tortious actions with the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award". At the same time, it attempts to enrich its so-called "state practice" related to "sovereignty" claims with a series of infringement actions.
Since it tore up the "gentleman's agreement" with China, the Philippines, instigated by some countries outside the region, has frequently violated China's legitimate rights and interests in the South China Sea, provoked and caused troubles, and spread false information to mislead the international community. It has gone further and further down a dangerous path. China, on the other hand, had taken reasonable, forceful, and also restrained countermeasures against the infringement actions of the Philippines. The Philippines should realize that provoking troubles is like giving a lark to catch a kite, and external forces are simply unreliable. With a strong strategic determination for resolving the South China Sea issue, China is committed to properly managing maritime disputes with relevant parties through dialogue and consultation, while also resolutely defending its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
(The author is the director of the Research Center for Maritime Silk Road under the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.)
Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
